Wandering Souls Need No Love
by Wolf Paws
Summary: A Kikyo fic. This is about her quest to put back the peices of a broken life. On the, way she meets a dark girl who could befriend her. (Kagura spotlight) What will she do when Inu makes his decision?
1. The Scene on the Beach

          So…I was just fooling around and I came up with this little piece of work. I guess I just really love Kikyo's story ^-^. So this is her point of view obviously. Its short because its just a intro…to see if people like it enough to add to it. So if ya like it, PRESS THE REVIEW BUTTON! Heh thx

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There you were. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of you both…together. It was a beautifully clear mid-summer's night. 

I was … _surprised_ to find you so far in the woods. You had taken up camp near a large lake and I watched you…an odd assortment in truth, but the closest of friends. You all argued in playful ways…you readied a fire for nightfall but I could tell you wouldn't need it. But maybe I was wrong…it did not seem cold to me but I probably had grown used to it by now. I was cold in more ways then one… Yet as night drew near and the clouds parted to reveal a ravishing full moon…you pulled her aside. She was pretty, I will admit. She had that sparkle of life in her eyes that just made you stare… I think my eyes must have looked like that too, before… Her hair had a natural curve to it where as mine was straight and long. She seemed a few years younger then us…well then we _were_. And she was cheerful. She looked at you with an innocent glow of curiosity. You smiled shyly. I dragged my eyes down. You used to give me that smile. Now you led her away from the others…out to the beach. And the moon shone over the water, the breeze was cool and soft, and the fireflies were out, hovering peacefully  around. I drew in a gasp. My, how the world was still so beautiful. I guess I had forgotten. 

I hid in the trees, far out of sight. I had been following you with great distance…I know I shouldn't of. I should have gone far away. But I just couldn't! You were my everything then, and you're all I have now. It can't be changed; believe me I've tried.

Now you take her hand up in your own. I remember those hands. So menacing to the eyes, with their deadly claws, yet no matter how strong, they were gentle. I rubbed my own hand…I could sense how cold it must be…how _dead_. But I forced my eyes back on you. You were speaking to her. I moved slightly closer so I could catch your words. "Kagome, I just want you to know…that what happened last time won't happen again." I frowned. Last time? What was he talking about? I leaned in to make sure I heard correctly. "I should have been watching you better. That demon could have killed you! I was to worried over the dumb shards." He looked down with guilt. "No, Inu yasha! I'm ok, don't feel bad." She comforted him. He smiled slightly and brought her closer to him. "But I promise, from now on, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'll protect you always…" If my heart had been beating in my chest it would have surely stopped now. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the world. He had said those same words to me…. oh how long ago it had been. The tears began to slip slowly down my face. No, no, no…how can this be? How can you say that? How can you promise your protection to her after swearing it to me? How can you give your love to her so freely when I _died_ for it! I wiped the tears away half-heartedly and drew my sad eyes back to the couple on the moonlit beach. "Oh, Inu yasha. Thank you." They held each other close. I remember when you held _me _like that. You had leaned in and whisperer to me, "I'll hold you until the day that I die". But here you were. You were still alive! And I was alone. But then…_I_ was dead, wasn't I. And who would give their love to the dead. I turned from the scene that tore so fiercely at my soul and disappeared into the shadows. 

On the outside I was a wreck. The tears would not stop, no matter what I did. But inside a flame was igniting. Anger. Pure and justified rage. He promised me his love. He swore he would always be there. I pounded my fist on the tree and my sobs broke loose from inside. "Why, why Inu yasha!?" I cried into my fists. Silently and stealthily the soul stealing demons drew near in the cooling night. They wound their way beside me and I sighed in small comfort. I let them lift me into the strong branches of a nearby willow. They gracefully swooped and swirled around me and I smiled shakily. I had to keep it together. I still had purpose in this cruel world. I struggled to find sleep, and even when I did, dog demons and jewels haunted it.

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Sooooo…worth another chapter? Let me know. Please…


	2. Enter Kagura

          Well! Lots of good reviews ^-^ thx so much for your support! Even those who do not like Kikyo have read this thus I think I am achieving something!!! As promised…CHAP 2!

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          Morning broke over the forest. Birds sang through the wood their joyous songs of summer as they darted through the branches overhead. The sunrise was a wonderful gold and there was little to no clouds. The first rays of sunlight crept through the willow's leaves and brought warmth to my face. I opened my eyes and squinted in the morning light. The soul stealers were gone…as they always were when daylight came, I didn't mind. Instead I carefully found my way out of the tree. I thought about where to go and decided that the river connecting to the lake would be the most convenient place to get water. Just because this body held no warmth did not mean it did not get dirty. I smiled at my own dark sarcasm.  As I neared the river a sound reached my ears. I quickly hid myself in the brush and peered out to the river. There I saw Kagome and the demon slayer…her name had escaped me in my surprise. They were bathing, Kagome in her strange water clothes and the slayer in her undergarments. I then noticed the small fox demon sat on the riverbank watching them with a childish smile. Inu yasha and the monk were obviously not invited. I listened as they spoke of their destination. A wealthy town farther north had sent word of a dangerous demon killing their villagers. They suspected a shard and we're going to help the villagers and claim the jewel. I felt the sting of pain in my shoulder and rubbed it warily. Oh, how I despised that jewel, and yet I worshiped it…No, if it weren't for the jewel, I would have never met Inu yasha. But as I considered all that had happened…maybe that would have been better? I sighed and shook my head. Not at all, I was fooling myself again. My life would lack meaning without him…yet these girls spoke as if their journey were a vacation of sorts.  

I sighed once again and hurried myself away from the stream. Already I had started to feel the anger well up inside me and I thought it best to get away. Yet I must not have used enough caution in my retreat, for the little kitsune turned his head in my direction. Thankfully he did not know what he had seen. However it was enough to make him shout them a warning and thus, draw them out of the river. I increased my pace. After last night I did not trust myself to handle a meeting with this future girl. I broke into a run and headed south, away from the lake. I would find a pond, or perhaps another stream…still, my thoughts found there way creeping back to that girl. She was my reincarnation, according to my now aged sister. I could not help but _despise_ her. The mere thought of her made my hands tighten on my bow until my knuckles were white with tension. I stormed through the woods. Something had to be done…. 

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          Elsewhere another maiden rested in the branches of an old cherry tree. Its leaves hung down with age and swung gently in the morning breeze. This girl wore a dazzling kimono of white and red; her hair was tied up with clips and feathers. Earrings hung from her pointed ears and her eyes were a shocking red. She looked on dreamily and inspected her precious fan without really seeing it. She went over the same thoughts she always had. Mostly plans to overthrow her master, rants about her emotionless sister's stupidity in her lack of rebellion, and her favorite, what she would do if she acquired her freedom. 

A buzzing outside her tree awoke her from her thoughts. She looked irritably up at the wasp that hovered overhead. "Get out of here. I know what I have to do. I can take a break if that is what I wish." The annoying buzzing did not end. She brought her gaze up to the bug and anger burned in burned in her crimson eyes. "Fine, have it your way." With a flick of her fan the wasp fell to the ground in two halves. She smiled despite the annoyance that still hung around her. She sighed a little and sat up on the branch to look towards the sunrise in the distance. Soon she must once again continue her seemingly endless search for Inu yasha and the jewel shards. She knew another wasp would be on her again about not doing her job but the breeze was wonderful and the tree was just too tempting. She put back her head and closed her eyes, letting back in her dreams of sweet freedom.

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          So…still good? I know it's short but I'm just starting and I'm still getting a good grip of this makeshift plot before I really get into it. And as for Stormy Days I'm sorry for the lack of updates but I'm sorta stuck. That's why I'm taking a break to do other fics before I start on the task of rethinking the plot. I'm hoping to have an update for that soon…


	3. Two girls on his tail

Well I think I have the plot worked out for the most part so this should go pretty smoothly (unlike Stormy Days which had no planning .) Anyways…. please keep reviewing…its the only way I'll know if I'm doin this right. Anything you think isn't good, just come on out and tell me!

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I made my way down the green grassy slopes to a bubbling stream. It was crystal clear and shimmered in the mid-day sun. I kneeled down by the waters edge and brought a handful to my face. It was cool and refreshing on my cheeks, which were still raw from tears. Still, it never felt as good as it did when I was alive. I lifted my head and thought about the conversation I had overheard. They were taking a journey to battle demons in a wealthy town north of here. We were pretty far north as it was. There weren't many towns farther up, especially wealthy ones, at that. The only one I could think of was Teren, which I had visited with my mother as a child. That was shortly before she died. Now I faced the feelings I had buried deep within. Seeing Inu yasha and her so close had drawn on the stings of my mind and pulled me to a silent decision. I would intercept them on their way to Teren. I would find where out where I stood in Inu yasha's mind and just how much this Kagome meant to him.

I silently rose from the river and started north. My face was grim but inside I felt more alive then I had since I was brought back from the dead. I'm coming for you, Inu yasha…

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Kagura lifted herself from the branches and landed gracefully at its trunk. She had killed twenty wasps so far and they had started to come in greater numbers. She decided she would get going before she was faced with one of his retched puppets. She hated those things, if he wanted a fight he should come do it himself. She would eagerly face him to the death, but not until she was prepared. It was fairly hard to fight a foe that held your heart in his hand. She turned to the north with a sigh.  Would she ever gain her freedom? 

The sunset was on her left and the moon was rising on her right. It was oddly beautiful, if you liked that sort of thing. As she wandered through the meadows she kept her eyes open. The trees were growing in number with every step she took. She was entering the forest and following her latest lead to the whereabouts of Inu yasha. Sure she had to slaughter a village or two to get the information she wanted, but that did not matter. In the end it would all be worth it. She would go to any lengths to get her freedom. The way she saw it, this girl, what was her name again…. oh, yes, Kagome. This girl Kagome was her master's downfall. Surely her heart was enough for the exchange of her own. Take out the threat and be freed. That was her plan in simplest forms.

          The shadows were becoming longer as the moon rose higher and the sun sank lower. The forest had consumed her now and the plains were far behind. The trees slowly parted and she came upon a beach. She walked along the shore; her eyes scanned the beauty of the woods with curiosity. She was like a child who had been kept in the house and had never seen such things before. Her master kept her on a very short leash. Now she turned from the beach and reentered the wood. With the turn of a corner she stumbled upon the remains of Inu yasha's camp. A smile spread on her face and she laughed with glee. "Yes! I have you now, dog boy!" She grabbed the feather from her hair and in a fluid instant was soaring above the trees into the darkened sky. She would find them and claim her victory…her _freedom_. 

In her joy she had not noticed the creature that had spied on her. A wasp hovered quietly in the trees and now flew off to tell its master what it had seen. An hour later it had reached the dark fortress and flew quickly to its master's room. It told the news in insect-like buzzing, but the man who stood inside nodded with understanding. A malicious smile spread on his lips and he chuckled in a low, rich tone. "So, you have found them, have you Kagura? Even so, you are no more a match for Inu yasha's sword and Kagome's arrows then you were before. What will you do?" He said this with little concern. It was more like a good laugh to him and he smiled to himself. She would never be free.

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So…still good??? How am I doing? Just let me know…


	4. Strange Alliance

Well, I heard no complaining so I guess I'll keep going ^-^ Please keep the reviews coming, they give struggling writers much hope! Heh

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          I made my way through the trees. This part of the country was new, but I greatly admired the forest. It was so peaceful, its beauty was endless and I enjoyed being on my own. Actually, I'm not sure if I _like_ being alone or if I just have grown to used to it to know the feel of company. Being alone had just grown natural. Just like being dead had just seeped into my veins and formed an unstable reality. It wasn't _natural _at all but what could I do… I felt a chill and rubbed my arms. I didn't get cold, maybe this was just the feel of loneliness…I had always imagined it as an icy feeling. I sorely wished for the days when I had taught my little sister of the herbs around the village and fended the jewel. Even though I disliked catering my life to this little object I knew it was my duty, and maybe even my destiny, to do so. Then along came Inu yasha and I wished for freedom a hundred times more. I wanted to love…and maybe, deep underneath, I wanted to hate. I shook off this feeling and the thoughts that came with it and kept going.

I walked along a worn path that looked like it suffered little use these days. Brush and small forest flowers had grown over and in some parts the path itself simply blended into the shadows. An owl called in the distance and I turned my head instinctively towards the sound. Yet as my eyes scanned the dark shadows of treetops they caught something else in the moonlight. There, soaring above the forest was what looked like a giant feather on which a woman rode. Most likely a demon was my first suspicion but as I took a closer look my miko training seemed to kick in. That was no ordinary demoness. She was made of a darker substance. I hurried along the remains of the path, keeping my eyes on the feather. I was not keeping up. So I hurried over to an oak tree whose branches dipped down before rising to the starry skies. I gripped the bark and pulled myself up branch by branch until I had reached the same height as her. Now I summoned my soul thieves. They appeared seemingly out of thin air. They dipped down to me as I reached out a hand to pet one delicately. Now I pointed to the girl who was getting further and further away. They hesitated for just a moment, as if to confirm their mission, before taking to the night wind. They gained on her with amazingly graceful speed and she turned with utter annoyance, as if expecting them. Yet as she looked her eyes grew wide and what words were about to come from her lips quickly faded. She dipped down, aiming for a towering pine. She landed with demonic ease and the feather disappeared. The soul stealers that had been left behind now glided around me and gently lifted me into the cool night air. 

Upon seeing me, the girl once again took the feather from her hair, and floated on it down to a clearing a bit east. I let them follow her lead and I was set gently into the grass. They slowly floated off but they hovered nearby in case they were called upon again. I inspected my surroundings before advancing on her. The clearing was flooded with moonlight and the stars shimmered dimly in relation to it. 

          She looked at me with apprehensive uncertainty. I slowly stepped forward. My hands grasped my bow tightly…something about her made my hair stand on end. As I made my way towards her I begin to speak. My voice was cold and clear in the stillness of night. "Who are you?" I began. A small smirk spread on her face. "You went to the trouble of stopping someone you don't even know?" I did not waver. I only stated calmly in response. "There is a very familiar air to you that I don't happen to like. So I wish to know who you are." Her smirk turned into a more level smile. "Oh, not an average human after all. I had guessed as much. I am Kagura, the wind witch. Now, who are you?" I considered her for a moment before answering. "I am Kikyo. Where are you headed so far north?" I tried to sound nonchalant but my suspicions of her origin in relation to where she was going had made me very anxious. She smiled darkly. "Oh, nosey little thing, aren't we?" I pretended not to hear. " You're headed in the same direction as I. Not _following_ anyone, are you?" She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean…how did you…?" she raised both eyebrows as a wash of realization seemed to spread over her. "I know who you are…you're the dead priestess who once babysat the shikon jewel. The one who had a thing for Inu yasha."? Another twinge in my shoulder but I ignored it. "Perhaps…you are Naraku's servant, aren't you?" She flinched with disgust at being called his 'servant' and I struggled to keep a smirk from my face. She growled to herself and changed the subject. "So, you know where dog boy is headed then?" I smiled coolly. "So you _are_ following him." She nodded, "but I truthfully don't know what I'll do when I find him…"(She didn't really know why she was being so honest. Maybe it was because she saw no point in lying to the priestess.) It was my turn to cock an eyebrow. "Hmmm…well good. Then you won't mind if I have a little talk with him." Kagura smiled but it didn't hold the natural contempt that it had moments before. "I will take you to him if you show me where I'm going." I thought it over. I couldn't very well trust this woman. She overflowed with the very _feel_ of Naraku. Yet she seemed to generally dislike him. So I smiled and held out my hand. We shook under the moonlight, two women who at points in their life had wanted the same exact thing. The moment itself seemed to hold a weight of importance. Yet I had no time to consider it as we were off on her feather. Teren seemed closer now and this woman's presence, dark as it was, seemed a relief from the lonely darkness I had suffered in before. The stars twinkled and clouds loomed overhead. The soul stealers glided behind us. Slowly they began to slow and circle the woods below.  My senses came alive and I caught glimpse of a fire. "Inu yasha." Kagura nodded and went on a few more miles before bringing us down to the earth below. Now I thanked her with a distant politeness and started off towards the direction I had seen the light. It must have been their camp for the night. He was surely to sense us, and would be headed towards me. I hoped he was alone. Then I would finally know…what was left of the life that once was…

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Started yet another side story, It's called 'School sucks and Life Bites' (its about Shippo as a regular teenage kid… but he's kind of a troublemaker) ^-^' that's why this was late. Sorry! But I am getting it done. Please Review…


	5. His Decision

Ok, back to work on this fic. I think I'm writing to many! @.@ I have this one…my shippo one, and I just started that crazy little murderer's fic. Then when I'm done I hafta return to my first fic, Stormy Days, and _try_ to finish it…-_- *sigh* at least I like writing, right? Ok, well Enjoy ^-^

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          I was getting closer to him. I could feel his soul. Strong and brave, yet underneath, caring and compassionate. He was coming to me…I narrowed my eyes against the dark and concentrated. I sensed no others. Good, we could talk without interruption. I stepped into the moonlight and waited. Any minute now he would walk through the branches and I could see those blazing gold eyes again. And as if on cue, he stepped through the trees. 

He had the same outfit on, that gallant red kimono. But he had only the bottom and a white undershirt on now. My mind's eye rested on the horrible thought that it was probably wrapped around Kagome in the cold night…I shook away the thought and let my cold eyes rest on his. "Kikyo…" He came towards me. I drew in a sharp breath. So many mixed emotions rushed through me. Love, contempt, suspicion, desire…it was hard to control myself. Yet I stood calmly, "Hello, Inu yasha." He looked so sad; it was hard to resist running to his arms. I must have been softening on the outside as well for he took a few steps forward and spoke more naturally, "Kikyo…how have you been?" What a stupid question I thought to myself. But what else could he ask. What more did he really want to know. So I humored him, "Not so well…" He looked down, his ears drew back and he searched for the words but they would not come. I knew this feeling, but I could hide it. So I spoke what he wondered silently. "I've come to ask you, Inu yasha, to find out once and for all…to who does your heart belong…?" He looked up quickly. His golden eyes, usually blazing with brave hate for the world, were sad and scared, like a puppy's. "Kikyo…I, I love you both so much…" I felt my gut tighten. You love her… I tried my best to keep my expression in check but I knew the sorrow was slowly slipping into view. "So…I have been replaced…" He was quick to reply and he moved closer to me still, "No! No, I could never replace you!" I cut him off. We were almost face-to-face now. "But you're trying. What happened…you promised me Inu yasha! You promised to be by my side!" The tears were coming now but my voice stayed strong. "Yet _I_ am alone. And this girl whose smile is the same as mine…she takes my place." He took my hand in his own. I flinched. His hands were still warm with life…mine were cold and dead. "No…Kikyo…everything went so wrong. Naraku must be stopped and-" I looked up into his eyes and searched his soul. "And what? What excuse does that give you for being with her?" He cast his eyes back down. "You must choose. You cannot have us both." His ears swiveled back in fear and sorrow. "I can't leave her…I just can't…" he let my hand go. The tears slipped down my cheeks. 'No' the thoughts were loud in my head. 'No, don't do this to me!'. I watched him slowly back away through eyes that didn't see to be my own. My hand was still suspended in the air after him, not willing to acknowledge his absence. "No…Inu yasha..." His eyes were sadder then I had ever seen them, but his voice was grim with a formal sense of decision. "I'm sorry, Kikyo, but Kagome needs me now…" I fell to my knees. "No…I cant, you cant…" I stared blindly at the ground and the tears fell in silent splashes in the dirt. I was trembling. He turned and headed back through the trees. I could hear his breath weaken with sobs, but I paid it no heed. I fell to the ground. "Inu yasha," I sobbed into my palms, "no, Inu yasha no…" I sat there for what seemed forever. I would not move. There was no point left. He was all I had…and he had left me…

          Kagura had been watching from the brush. The two of them had been so tied up in their emotions that they had not sensed her presence. She had witnessed to whole scene, beginning to end. Now, strange tangles of thoughts were twisting in her mind. Her natural cruelty was working on a plot in which she could use this interaction to her advantage. And yet, underneath an unknown emotion was making it hard to think. She felt…_bad_, for Kikyo. She had instantly hated her less then everyone else she had met, and to see her crushed…it was…disheartening. (If you had a heart that is). She had to do something. She carefully made her way through the trees towards the trembling priestess. She kneeled down and set a hand on her shoulder. "Its ok…c'mon, let's leave." Kikyo looked up with eyes that sparkled from tears. She allowed the demoness to help her up and guide her through the darkness. She seemed disconnected from the world, she was lost to her misery. Kagura kept an eye on her as she went through the black forest. To be so sad…and over what? Love? What a worthless thing to be so worked up for. Now, _freedom_…that was another story.

          We entered the moonlit clearing. Kagura looked around and focused her eyes on a cliff to the north. "How bout up there? We can rest…maybe, talk…" I closed my eyes and sighed. I slowly blocked everything out. A trick I had learned in my days of protecting the jewel. I could not let emotion get the better of me. I got a better grip on myself and the trembling lessened. "Ok…" She took out her feather and I brought a hand towards the sky. The soul skimmers appeared and came down to pick me up. We glided towards the cliff. It was clear and peaceful. Covered in only short grasses and wild flowers with one lone elm tree. My soul thieves set me down to where Kagura had landed on her feather. She was inspecting me with those blood red eyes. Finally she said, "He meant a lot to you…didn't he?" I nodded silently. Suddenly I looked up at her. I had the urge to let it all out. She may be the only one who would listen, and even better yet, understand. As if justifying my thoughts she asked, "How did this all come to be?" So with a sigh I started to explain the whole story, "It all started almost fifty years ago, with the shikon no tama, the sacred jewel…

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And the Kagome fans go WILD. Yea that's right, he picked Kagome. Sorry Kik fans (like me) but that's how the story goes. Now what will Kikyo do? TUNE IN NEXT TIME!!!! ^-~ Plz review!


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